Health Equity Episodes
July 27, 2026
1173: Why Public Health's Biggest Challenges Require Better Collaboration
Chelsea Moriarty Coffield discusses the importance of collaboration in public health and shares strategies for building trust and health equity.
Dec. 10, 2025
1040: Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive Discusses the Stakes of ACIP’s Vote on Hepatitis B Vaccine for Newborns
In this episode, ASTHO member and Michigan Department of Health & Human Services Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian breaks down a major development in national vaccine policy: the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP’s) decision to narrow its guidance on the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.
Guest: Natasha Bagdasarian, MD, MPH
375
Aug. 15, 2025
970: Respiratory Virus Season Briefing, CICT Course
Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, Dr. Susan Kansagra, ASTHO chief medical officer, Dr. Scott Harris, ASTHO president and state health Officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, Dr. Ayanna Bennett, director of the District of Columbia Department of Health, and Dr. Manisha Juthani, ASTHO president-elect and commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Public Health, held a deskside briefing on the preparations for the upcoming respiratory virus season; Ericka McGowan, senior director of emerging infectious disease at ASTHO...
447
Feb. 6, 2025
838: Oregon’s Bold Health Goals, Food Deserts
Dr. Sejal Hathi, director of the Oregon Health Authority, tells us that to achieve Oregon’s bold health goals we have to work together; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for State Health Policy, explains how some states are addressing food...
Guests: Beth Giambrone, MPP , Sejal Hathi MD MBA
437
Jan. 23, 2025
828: White House Sepsis Roundtable, AI & PH Webinar
Dr. Jerome Larkin, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, recaps a White House roundtable meeting that focused on sepsis; Meghan Mead, deputy director in the Mid-States Region at the Network for Public Health Law, tells...
Guests: Jerome Larkin, MD , Meghan Mead JD
436
Jan. 22, 2025
827: Alpha-Gal Syndrome Interest, New Congress Priorities
Courtney Anderson, a director with ASTHO’s Environmental Health Team, discusses a blog article on alpha-gal syndrome that was one of ASTHO’s most popular resources of 2024; Catherine Murphy, government affairs analyst for ASTHO, uses past...
Guests: Courtney Anderson MPH , Catherine Murphy
435
Jan. 21, 2025
826: Rethink Public Health Funding With PHIG
Melissa Magstadt, secretary of health for the South Dakota Department of Health, explains how her state has used Public Health Infrastructure Grant funding to bolster public health.
Guest: Melissa Magstadt CNP MBA
434
Jan. 17, 2025
825: National Day of Racial Healing, New Administration Early Priorities
Natasha Harper-Levy, director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ASTHO, tells us the importance of racial healing as we get ready to celebrate the National Day of Racial Healing; an ASTHO blog article dives into how you can integrate race and...
Guests: Jeffrey Ekoma, MBA, MS , Natasha Harper-Levy
433
Jan. 16, 2025
824: AHEAD Model, NEMA Hurricane Response Webinar
Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, secretary of health for the Maryland Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, tells us how Maryland was the first state to sign on to the AHEAD Model released by CMS; Jessica Byrski, senior policy analyst for the National...
Guests: Laura Herrera Scott MD MPH , Jessica Byrski
431
Jan. 14, 2025
822: Shah Steps Down, ASTHO Welcomes New Member
Dr. Umair Shah, secretary of health for the Washington State Department of Health, shares some of his proudest accomplishments as he steps away from his position; Dirk Wilke is the new interim commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Health and...
Guest: Umair Shah, MD, MPH
427
Jan. 8, 2025
818: Tobacco-Related Disparities, Illegally Manufactured Fentanyl Report
Dr. Kristy Marynak, senior science advisor at the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, details a report on tobacco-related disease and death; Dr. Jean Ko, deputy director at the CDC's Scientific Programs for the Division of Overdose Prevention, discusses a CDC report about overdose rates involving illicitly manufactured fentanyls; and an...
Guests: Kristy Marynak PhD MPP , Jean Ko PhD
425
Jan. 6, 2025
816: New Office of Healthy Aging, Vape Devices with Video Games
Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and an ASTHO member, tells us why his team decided to create an Office of Healthy Aging; Dr. Jennifer Unger, a professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University...
Guests: Ralph Alvarado MD FACP , Jennifer Unger PhD
422
Dec. 18, 2024
813: Enhance PH Workforce Retention, PH Kiosk Project Launch
Allison Budzinski, ASTHO senior workforce analyst, tells us small and important steps to support the public health workforce; Shane Gausepohl, communications and equity coordinator for Del Norte County Public Health, explains the Community Health...
421
Dec. 17, 2024
812: SAPHE 2.0 Promotes Equity, ASTHO President Weighs In On Bird Flu
Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and an ASTHO Member, describes how SAPHE 2.0 will promote health equity throughout the state; Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama state health officer and ASTHO president, is...
Guest: Robert Goldstein, MD, PhD
417
Dec. 11, 2024
808: Infectious Disease Legislative Prospectus, Fifth DELPH Cohort Begins
Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and an ASTHO Member, discusses the containment and prevention of the spread of infectious disease as part of ASTHO’s Legislative Prospectus Series; Allyson...
Guests: Robert Goldstein, MD, PhD , Allyson Belton, MPH
409
Nov. 27, 2024
800: Hemp’s Hazy Status, Climate Change Impacts Health Equity
Christina Severin, ASTHO’s director of Public Health Law, dives into the ins and outs of the status of hemp; Linda Helland, manager of California’s Climate Change and Health Equity Branch at the California Department of Public Health, tells us...
407
Nov. 25, 2024
798: Public Health Thank You Day
Dr. Scott Harris, ASTHO president and state health officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health and Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, share their thoughts on Public Health Thank You Day; and Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American...
406
Nov. 22, 2024
797: Health Equity Institute Launch, Community Design Supports Healthy Aging
Dr. Awele Maduka-Ezeh, medical director for the Delaware Division of Public Health, details the launch of the Health Equity Institute of Delaware; Ken Rose, branch chief for the Physical Activity and Health Program in the Division of Nutrition,...
404
Nov. 20, 2024
795: Psychology Diversity, Rulemaking Improvements
Dr. Charmain Jackman, licensed psychologist and founder and CEO of InnoPsych, tells us how InnoPsych plans to diversify the psychology workforce; Tami Thompson, Regulatory Affairs manager at the Washington State Department of Health, discusses how...
Guests: Charmain Jackman PhD , Tami Thompson
403
Nov. 19, 2024
794: Inaugural PHIG Impact Report Features Kentucky Success
Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health and ASTHO’s immediate past president, tells us how his state is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant to improve the state of public health in Kentucky, in the first PHIG Impact Report segment; ASTHO...
Guest: Steven Stack, MD
401
Nov. 15, 2024
792: States Assist McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak, Latest National Youth Tobacco Survey
Rachel Jervis, Foodborne, Enteric, Waterborne, and Wastewater Diseases program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, discusses how Colorado played a key role in the response to the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak; Joshua...
Guests: Joshua Berry MPH , Rachel Jervis MPH
396
Nov. 7, 2024
787: Racism Affects Youth, Epidemiology Assessment Bears Mixed Results
Dr. James Huynh, assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, discusses what the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey says about racism; Sarah Auer, program analyst for the...
Guests: Sarah Auer, MPH, CHES® , James Huynh PhD MPH MA
395
Nov. 6, 2024
786: CDC’s “Hear Her” Campaign for Maternal Health, PHIG Funds Leadership Program
Dr. Wanda Barfield, director of the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses the “Hear Her” campaign that aims to help the national maternal mortality crisis; Cynthia Naasira Taylor, leadership...
394
Nov. 5, 2024
785: Vaccination Coverage Decreases, OTC Birth Control Rule Change
Lori Freeman, chief executive officer for the National Association of County and City Health Officials, discusses a new report from the CDC outlining the decline in required vaccine coverage among kindergartners; and Brittany Lee, ASTHO director of...
Guests: Lori Freeman MBA , Brittany Lee